The Return to Innisfree - Travel Review and Advice

Epilogue                                                                        Ireland

Leap of Faith Travel Review

My trip to Ireland was outstanding along with the fond memories of Cong and the film ‘The Quiet Man’ 1952.

We could have possibly used flights or a train to get to our destination but what better way is there to experience the area than to drive yourself along with the ones you love.

Stena line was the ferry we had used to travel across from Cairnryan to Belfast but there is a variety of routes to take which are:

1.     Liverpool – Belfast

2.     Holyhead – Dublin Port

3.     Fishguard – Rosslare

There are a lot of facilities onboard the ferries including duty free, Amusements and even a big screen cinema experience. There are also plenty of restaurants and bars on board and convenience shops to explore.

If you are a John Wayne/Maureen O Hara fan and loved the 1952 film, ‘The Quiet Man’, then pack your bags and head to Cong. A lot of the film locations are in this quaint village and there is also a Quiet man museum so you can immerse yourself in the film and admire the amazing artefacts and memorabilia of this great film. They also sell guidebooks about the film and points out all the film locations ever used in the film with detailed maps of where they are. They also run a guided tour of the village based on the film which is very good for those who would find it difficult to find the locations plus the tour guide gives you brilliant information about each location.

As for the village itself it is truly peaceful with plenty of fishing areas. There is a trout fishery opposite the Quiet man museum to which you would need a fishing license. Also Ashford castle grounds require a fishing license but it is definitely worth it for the relaxation. The fish there are either Rainbow trout, Perch, Pike and many more. Cong has plenty of eating areas and local shops with a petrol station for those just passing by. The best place to eat for the evening I thought was Danaghers bar, the staff were extremely friendly especially allowing our dog to enter as not many places would do that in the area. If you get stuck in any way there is a tourist information centre located within the town full of guidance about the surrounding areas and other places to visit. There are also a few accommodations either bed and breakfast or hotels in the village but if you have the money and the fact you only live once then get yourself booked in at Ashford castle.

Ashford castle was a medieval castle but is now a 5 star luxury hotel. It is set in 350 acres of land with the beautiful shores of Lough Corrib. It has 82 guest rooms, a wealth of activities which I happily took part in with extreme fine dining. The gardens are fabulous alongside the beautiful nature walks through the woodland areas. The activities I did were:

1.     Clay pigeon shooting

2.     Archery

3.     Falconry

4.     Horse riding

The experience was absolutely fantastic especially falconry which I will hold dear to me. All the staff of the activities were amazing too making the experience enjoyable. These activities are easy to book too by ringing the equestrian centre and request a time for booking. They will ask if you are staying at Ashford Castle but it does not matter if you do or not.

There is also a cruise which you can take for the afternoon. It departs from Ashford castle for the 2 hour 15 minute journey along the breathtaking Lough Corrib with a stop off at Inchagoill Island with a few heritage sites amongst it. There has an onboard refreshment too so it saves you from carrying around your own food and drink.

The place we stayed was a self catering accommodation called ‘Corrib view villa’ located 2 mile on the outskirts of Cong. We were actually hoping to stay in Cong itself but unfortunately, most of the hotels wouldn’t accept dogs. However, Corrib view villa was perfect for this reason. It is located in a farmland area so it is a very peaceful place to stay with your family with large traditional rooms and plenty of walking pathways towards the Lough.

I would like to thank the owner of Corrib view villa for the amazing accommodation. I also would like to thank the staff members and instructors of the equestrian centre who were incredible with me and patient especially when it took me a very long time to pop a balloon with archery.

Again I urge John Wayne/ Maureen O Hara fans and the film ‘The Quiet Man’ 1952 to visit the little gem of Cong with so much history to share.

Live life to the fullest

It’s the best way

Live every moment intensely

Because life is too short

And the moment comes when we are going to die

And we’d have wished to do so many things we didn’t

That is why we have to enjoy every moment

One must enjoy life

Try not to acquire so many things

But instead have experiences

Accomplish everything you want to do

No matter the effort it deserves

Life is too short and one must relish it

Below I have added links which hopefully will help you along your way:

www.stenaline.co.uk 

www.booking.com  Type Corrib View Villa in the search bar.

www.ashfordequestrian.com

www.corribcruises.com 

www.fisheriesireland.ie

www.quietman-cong.com 

The Return to Innisfree - Day 9

Farewell from Ireland

Cong                                                                              Ireland

Saturday 14^th June 2014

It was a horrible time for my parents and I as this was the day that we were due to start our long journey back home from this beautiful country of Ireland. We had one last look around the rooms to make sure we picked everything up before we handed the keys to the owner of the villa thanking her for the accommodation for the week and after saying our goodbyes, it was time to head off for home. We set off at 9:30am and our first port of call was a town called Balinrobe where we would have a very short stop in order to fill the car up with petrol and check the tyres. At that moment I decided to spray my father with the air pump as a joke before we set off for our first checkpoint to Belcoo on the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Throughout the journey I decided not to use the satellite navigation as it was a lot easier following the signs and less distracting too. This meant that it actually made the driving a lot more fun as I wasn’t staring at a screen half of the time. It also meant that I could enjoy the lovely views of Irelands’ landscapes and lovely they were indeed flourishing with beautiful green valleys and small rural towns. A long while had passed as we were passing places such as Castlebar, Charlestown and Sligo until familiar surroundings lead us to the border town of Belcoo. We had arrived there in good time thanks to the lack of traffic along the way. We only stopped at Belcoo for a respite and to let the dog stretch her legs around the big field amongst a lot of other dogs and then we soon set off again on our journey straight to Belfast ferry port. The next place we came up to was Enniskillen and as soon as we arrived we immediately realised that there was a marathon going on which slowed the traffic to a halt. It was good to see everyone jogging having a good time despite looking exhausted but then the traffic started moving again. Our next call was a service station at Dungannon where we would have a small bite to eat and to fill the car up again. I wanted to get my haircut at the hairdressers located here so I walked in. I asked them if I could get my haircut and they said I couldn’t today as they were fully booked. Then they said they could book me in for Monday. I laughed as I thought ‘Yeah, Im going to drive all the way from Newcastle to Dungannon just for my haircut’. So with that, we eventually left still laughing about the hairdressers whilst closing in on Belfast. The journey to Belfast was swift and easier than I thought and without warning, we soon arrived at Stena line ferry port. We had passed the security checkpoints and lined up again like we did in Stranraer. We had a good look around the area just to stretch our legs and admire the calm river mouth of the Lagan River until eventually the call came out to board the ferry. On the ferry we boarded and parked up near the elevators for my father for the 2 hour 15 minute sail to Scotland. Once we were inside the ship, we sat in a quiet and comfortable area in order to try and get some sleep from the long drive. Although I tried my best, it was too hard to get some shut eye with the excitement and curiosity of the views around the ferry. So I decided to stay awake and have a mocha coffee to keep my energy up so I could have a look around the ship again. Again the journey would be smooth as we were nearing Scotland. I decided to head onto the top deck of the ship realising I was alone again and then I had seen the most beautiful view at the back end of the ship. As it was getting late, the warm sun was setting and sitting just above the ocean which I thought was an upsetting but very lovely way of saying farewell from Ireland. A while had passed until we were all told to return to our cars to disembark. It was all systems go as soon as the ferry bow opened up marking down the start of the second leg of the journey back home. We weren’t stopping at ‘The Auld Cairn’ bed and breakfast this time as I just wanted to get straight home and not spend another sleepless night there. I was looking forward to driving through the night to be honest even though there were quite a lot of trucks blocking our way half the time. With Mocha coffees as my fuel source, we ate up the miles and then we hit the motorways. This was the best part I thought as it was coming up to midnight and there were rarely any vehicles on the roads so it felt like we were alone. It felt great to have the whole road to ourselves as we passed all the trucks at this point. We drove on through the night until we stopped at a service station a few minutes before midnight. We got out catching some fresh air, stretching our legs and having a toilet stop in the woods nearby. As soon as everyone was back in, I said happy father’s day to my father and gave him his Guinness presents there and then which he really liked and found it funny for me giving him them at that time. We continued on still heading east along the A69 for a good long while with my mother fast asleep in the back when she said she wouldn’t fall asleep. Then we arrived onto the A1, the last major road before home. It was at this point my mother woke up with joy and shock that I had driven all that way. We had eventually left the major roads behind and now we were heading straight for home. The familiar sights of home were surreal to us because of how much distance I had driven to get there from Ireland and the fact we were away for just over a week. I pulled up to our home and turned the engine off one last time with a great sense of relief. We arrived home 2 minutes after 2:00am and after getting praised for my driving, we all headed in bringing a few important things in with us. The greatest moment was finally resting on my bed with the thought of being back from such a long drive. I thought about all the amazing activities I did at Ashford castle feeling a sense of peace with the horse riding and especially falconry. Of how relaxed I was with fond memories of the beautiful village of Cong reminiscing over the quiet fishing I did feeling happy that I actually caught more than one fish. Also, I had calmness in my heart knowing that the village of Cong hadn’t dramatically changed since we were last there many years ago. Witnessing ‘The Quiet Man’ film locations once more was a thing of beauty too especially at Maam Cross with the White O Morn cottage with the surrounding green fields and large hills. It was also amazing to share this experience with my family as it brought us together for the good old times we shared in this breathtaking place of Ireland. It had won our hearts once more.

Arriving into Scotland

The Return to Innisfree - Day 8

Quiet Man Cottage Museum

Cong                                                                              Ireland

Friday 13^th June 2014

Another early rise approached at 6:30am for us as it was time to take my father to his last dialysis session at Castlebar general hospital. I was happy that this would be the last one though as it was starting to get a bit tiring for my father to go through the sessions especially on his holiday. It wasn’t the only last thing to be aware of as this was our last full day in Ireland so we were planning on making the most of it after the hospital run. As there was not much traffic on the 30 km road to Castlebar, we had arrived in good time dropping my father off at the renal dialysis department. My mother and I went to the hospitals café to have yet another mocha coffee whilst reflecting on our last full day of our time here in good old Ireland before setting off home tomorrow. A long time had passed as we finished our coffees and we headed into Castlebar town centre to pick up the last remaining gifts for the family and a few essentials for tomorrows long trip. We both had a greater look around the busy town and came across more unique shops such as a shop which sold Native American items and spiritual ones too. It was truly surprising how we managed to spend 4 hours in the town we previously visited on this journey but I knew there was more to see and do in this remarkable place. Once we finished in the town centre we then picked my father up but there was a very big delay on him getting out due to the fact that he couldn’t stop bleeding when they had taking the needles out of him. With everything cleared for him to leave we set off back to Corrib View Villa. On the way back, my father informed me that I was actually getting admired by some of the nurses which made me laugh a lot. We eventually arrived back at Corrib view villa to drop our gifts and shopping off. I really wanted to relax a lot for the rest of the time as I had a long drive the next day so I thought what better way to relax than to do a bit of fishing at my favourite spot again along the quiet flow of Cong River. So we all headed for the short ride to Cong for the relaxation that waited for us with open arms. As was expected there was nobody in my favourite spot which was brilliant as I set up my fishing rod and bait. Relaxation could start and I felt so much peace watching my float gently flow down the river whilst bobbing up and down now and again with fish taking a bite to my bait. I spent quite a while fishing with still nobody around and I only managed to catch 2 rainbow trout. Once I thought the fish weren’t biting anymore I decided to end the fishing as I wanted to go spend most of my time in the town with my family. I packed the fishing equipment in the car and met up with my parents at the quiet man café to have a cup of tea. I had a final look in the shop next to the café and I caught my eye on a Guinness T-shirt which I put on straight away. I also bought a Guinness hat for my father as in 2 days time it was father’s day. We took our time exploring the whole village with a few tears from my mother knowing it was coming to an end soon. Our last port of call was for an evening dinner together at Danaghers bar which we were looking forward too. It was nice of the bar staff to let us bring our dog in too as we sat at the back end of the bar next to the American pool table. Yet again the bar was nice and quiet as we ordered our food. I ordered a T-bone steak with chips and of course a beautiful pint of Guinness. The food I had was absolutely mouth watering with the plate I had completely empty and to finish the evening off I had a chocolate cake too. I spent some time playing pool with my mother while watching the first match of the world cup on TV and that would probably go down as the only time I could ever multi task. After waddling back to the car with full stomachs from great food, we had one final drive around the small peaceful village of Cong and said our goodbyes but hopefully not the last time though as this day had been another memorable day for us all. Despite it being Friday 13^th of all days, we definitely had the luck of the Irish on our side.

Me Outside Reverend Playfair House